| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public two-year college, campus-based; member of the University of Arkansas System since 1 February 2017 |
| Campuses | 3 teaching sites in the Little Rock area: the main campus in North Little Rock, Little Rock–South, and the Aerospace Technology Center (aviation maintenance) |
| Credentials | Associate of applied science (AAS), transfer associate degrees (AA, AS), technical certificates and certificates of proficiency |
| Accreditation | Higher Learning Commission since 1997; June 2024 action: Continue Accreditation with Monitoring (not a sanction); next reaffirmation 2029-30 |
| Federal aid | Yes (Pell grants named on the state’s training-provider listings) |
| Fall 2026 cost | $147 per credit in-state, $300 out-of-state, plus $77.80 in mandatory fees; program fees extra |
| Students | 5,122 headcount in fall 2025 (including the second 8-week term); 4,917 in spring 2026 |
| Founded | 1945, as the Little Rock Vocational School |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
UA-PTC: a public two-year college in the Little Rock area
University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College, often shortened to UA-PTC or UA – Pulaski Tech, began in 1945 as the Little Rock Vocational School under the Little Rock Public Schools. It became Pulaski Vocational Technical School in 1969 and Pulaski Technical College in 1991, and it joined the University of Arkansas System on 1 February 2017, taking its current name. It teaches career programs in health care, the trades, culinary arts and aviation maintenance alongside transfer degrees, at a main campus in North Little Rock and two sites in the Little Rock area.
Enrollment was 5,122 in fall 2025, counting the second 8-week term, and 4,917 in spring 2026; the college reports growth of 22.6% from fall 2023 to fall 2025. Half of its students (51%) are in transfer curricula and 39% in technical certificates and degrees, and the average student is 27 and takes 9 credit hours.
Career programs at UA-PTC, and where they meet
The college awards associate of applied science degrees, technical certificates and shorter certificates of proficiency, and many program areas offer more than one level. The table shows the main career programs with the program fee each adds per credit for Fall 2026, on top of tuition and mandatory fees. The college’s program pages often don’t say which campus teaches a program; where they don’t, the table says to confirm with the college.
| Program | Credential | Length / schedule | Where | Prepares for | Fall 2026 program fee per credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical Nursing | Technical certificate | – | Main campus (Allied Health Education Center) | NCLEX-PN (LPN) | $100 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant | Course | – | Main campus | State CNA exam | $33 |
| Dental Assisting | Technical certificate; AAS option | 9 months, August to May; weekdays 8 to 3 | Main campus | – (CODA-accredited program) | $15 |
| Surgical Technology | AAS, 60 credits | Prerequisites, then 2 semesters from spring | Main campus | CST exam | $20 |
| Respiratory Therapy | AAS | – | Main campus; clinicals may be outside Pulaski County | NBRC exams (CRT, RRT) | $80 |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant | AAS, 70 credit hours | 2 years full-time; 18 students a year | Baptist Health College Little Rock (partner) | NBCOT exam | $205 |
| EMT | Certificate of proficiency, 6 credits | 1 semester, two days a week | Main campus | NREMT eligibility | $25 |
| Paramedic | Technical certificate, 36 credits; AAS in Emergency Medical Sciences | Fall start only | Main campus | NREMT paramedic exam | $25 |
| Aviation Maintenance | AAS; Airframe and Powerplant technical certificates | – | Aerospace Technology Center | FAA Airframe and Powerplant | $45 |
| Electrical Lineworker (H-VOLT) | Technical certificate; certificate of proficiency | Evenings Mon–Thu and Saturdays; 16 seats a term | Little Rock–South (Transportation Technology Center) | NCCER credential | $200 |
| Collision Repair Technology | Technical certificate, 37 credits | – | Little Rock–South | – | $58 |
| Diesel Technology | Technical certificate; certificate of proficiency | – | Confirm with the college | – | $50 |
| Automotive Technology | AAS option; technical certificate; 3 certificates of proficiency | – | Confirm with the college | – | $50 |
| Culinary Arts | AAS, 60 credit hours; technical certificate | – | Little Rock–South (culinary institute) | – | $200 |
| Baking and Pastry Arts | AAS; technical certificate | – | Little Rock–South (culinary institute) | – | $200 |
| Welding Technology | Technical certificate; certificate of proficiency | – | Confirm with the college | – | $55 |
| HVACR | AAS; technical certificate; certificate of proficiency | – | Confirm with the college | – | $40 |
| Advanced Manufacturing Technology | AAS (Electrical or Mechanical Systems); certificates | – | Confirm with the college | – | $50 |
| Cosmetology | Technical certificate; 2 certificates of proficiency | – | Confirm with the college | Arkansas cosmetology licence | $50 |
Programmatic accreditation: CODA for dental assisting; CAAHEP for surgical technology and paramedic; CoARC for respiratory therapy; ACOTE for the occupational therapy assistant program; the American Culinary Federation, at its “Exemplary” level through 2030, for culinary arts and baking and pastry; and the ASE Education Foundation for diesel (medium/heavy truck, since November 2023).
UA-PTC has no RN program and no physical therapist assistant program. Its nursing department teaches practical nursing, CNA and medication assistant training only. Radiography stopped taking applications on 21 May 2025 and has no Summer 2026 cohort. The occupational therapy assistant program is taught at Baptist Health College Little Rock, a partner, not on a UA-PTC campus. The college also teaches Hospitality Management, Dietary Management, Tractor and Trailer Operation (CDL), Construction Management, Drafting and Design, Paralegal Technology and other business programs.
What the main programs cover
Dental Assisting
This is a full-time daytime program: classes run Monday to Friday from 8 to 3 for nine months, from August to May, with 25 credits in the fall semester and 18 in the spring. Students apply for a place, and the program starts only in August. It is taught on the second floor of the Allied Health Education Center at the main campus. The certificate is recognized by the Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners, and completers can continue into the Dental Assisting option of the AAS in Allied Health.
Surgical Technology
The AAS totals 60 credits, split evenly between 30 credits of prerequisite coursework and a 30-credit professional core. The core takes two semesters and begins in spring, so students plan their prerequisites around that start. Classes are on the first floor of the Allied Health Education Center. The program is accredited by CAAHEP on the recommendation of ARC-STSA, and it prepares students for the Certified Surgical Technologist exam.
EMT and Paramedic
EMT is a 6-credit, one-semester certificate that meets two days a week, starting in fall, spring or summer; students take it for credit only or for credit and state licensure. Paramedic is a 36-credit professional sequence that starts only in fall, with clinical shifts on nights and weekends, and can add 24 general-education credits for the AAS in Emergency Medical Sciences. The department dates from 1975 and moved to UA-PTC from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in January 2019.
Electrical Lineworker (H-VOLT)
The lineworker program is taught at the Transportation Technology Center on the Little Rock–South campus on an evening and weekend schedule: Monday to Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 10 and Saturdays from 7 to 3:30. Only 16 students start each term, taken first come, first served, and students must weigh 300 lb or less. Training leads to an NCCER credential, and nine utility partners work with the program. The $200 per-credit program fee is among the college’s highest.
Occupational Therapy Assistant
The 70-credit-hour AAS takes two years of full-time study and is taught at Baptist Health College Little Rock. Baptist Health runs the selection: 18 students are admitted each year after interviews. From fall 2025 applicants need 16 credit hours of prerequisites first. Graduates are eligible for the NBCOT exam and work as occupational therapy assistants. The college points applicants to Baptist Health for the program’s outcome data. Its program fee is $205 per credit.
Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Arts
Both are taught at the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute on the Little Rock–South campus. Culinary Arts runs from certificates of proficiency in Basic Food Preparation and in Food Purchasing and Inventory to a technical certificate and a 60-hour AAS; Baking and Pastry Arts has Cake Decorating and Basic Pastry Techniques certificates below its own certificate and AAS. The American Culinary Federation extended both programs’ “Exemplary” accreditation in February 2024, through 31 December 2030. Non-credit “3D” certificates of completion are also offered.
Fall 2026 tuition, fees and how students pay
The college’s tuition page labels these rates “Fall 2026” and does not say whether they also apply to spring and summer. There is no separate in-district rate: Arkansas residents pay the in-state rate wherever they live.
| Fall 2026, per credit hour | Arkansas resident | Out-of-state and international |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $147.00 | $300.00 |
| Facility/IT/Security fee | $70.00 | $70.00 |
| Student Support Services fee | $7.80 | $7.80 |
| Tuition plus mandatory fees | $224.80 | $377.80 |
At the in-state rate, 30 credits with mandatory fees come to $6,744 for a year (our calculation), before program fees. Most career programs add a per-credit program fee: for example $8 for education, $25 for EMT and paramedic, $40 for HVAC, $50 for automotive, diesel, manufacturing and cosmetology, $100 for practical nursing, $200 for culinary, baking, hospitality and the lineworker program, and $205 for occupational therapy assistant. An inclusive-access materials fee of $13.69 to $600 a course applies to some courses, and distance-education courses add $20 a credit. International students pay a $250 application fee and $500 a semester on top of the out-of-state rate.
Arkansas’s training-provider list gives program totals at the earlier rate of $145 per credit: $19,750.95 in-state ($27,550.95 out-of-state) for the Culinary Arts AAS and $9,965 ($14,775) for the Collision Repair certificate. Expect Fall 2026 totals to be higher. UA-PTC takes federal student aid; the state listings name Pell grants.
Admission and schedules: several programs have their own entry steps
Several health and trades programs are selective or capped. The occupational therapy assistant program admits 18 a year by interview through Baptist Health; dental assisting takes applications for an August start; paramedic starts only in fall; and the lineworker program has 16 seats a term with a 300-lb weight limit. Placement testing uses ACCUPLACER ($20), and health programs use the ATI TEAS.
Each semester has a 16-week term and two 8-week terms, so some classes start mid-semester; the second fall 8-week term in 2025 began on 13 October. Schedules depend on the program: dental assisting is full-time days, the lineworker program runs on evenings and Saturdays, EMT meets two days a week, and paramedic clinicals fall on nights and weekends.
Accreditation and results
UA-PTC has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 8 August 1997, after candidacy from 1993. According to HLC’s accreditation status page (checked October 2026), its last full reaffirmation review, in December 2020, ended in “Reaffirm Accreditation with Monitoring”, a March 2023 multi-location visit was “Completed with Concerns”, and on 3 June 2024 HLC’s action was “Continue Accreditation with Monitoring”. HLC lists no sanction (probation, notice or show-cause), and the next reaffirmation is due in 2029-30.
The Arkansas State Board of Nursing publishes first-time NCLEX-PN results for the practical nursing program. In its report dated 11 August 2026, UA-PTC’s pass rate was below the Arkansas average in each year from 2022 to 2025:
| Year | First-time testers | Passed | UA-PTC pass rate | Arkansas PN average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 47 | 37 | 78.7% | 81.8% |
| 2023 | 31 | 23 | 74.1% | 86.0% |
| 2024 | 15 | 10 | 66.6% | 94.2% |
| 2025 | 39 | 31 | 79.4% | 92.0% |
We found no pass rates for the other certification exams (CST, NBRC, NBCOT, NREMT) on the college’s program pages; the respiratory therapy page links to CoARC outcomes, and the college refers occupational therapy assistant applicants to Baptist Health for outcome data.
Before you enroll
- There is no RN program. Practical Nursing leads to an LPN license only, so an RN goal means a second program elsewhere.
- The practical nursing pass rate on the NCLEX-PN trailed the Arkansas average every year from 2022 to 2025, by about 12 to 28 points from 2023 to 2025. Ask the program what it has changed.
- Radiography has not taken applications since 21 May 2025, and there is no physical therapist assistant program.
- HLC has kept the college’s accreditation “with monitoring” since 2020. That is not a sanction; ask the college what the monitoring covers.
- Program fees add a lot in some fields: culinary, baking and lineworker students pay $200 per credit on top of $224.80 in-state tuition and fees in Fall 2026, and occupational therapy assistant students $205.
- The college’s pages don’t say where welding, HVACR, manufacturing, cosmetology, automotive, diesel or the business and IT programs are taught. Confirm the campus before you apply.
Three teaching sites: what each teaches
| Campus | Address | Programs taught there (main ones) |
|---|---|---|
| Main campus | 3000 West Scenic Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72118 | Administration and transfer classes; Allied Health Education Center: practical nursing, CNA, medication assistant, dental assisting, surgical technology, EMT, paramedic; respiratory therapy |
| Little Rock–South | 13000 Interstate 30, Little Rock, AR 72210 | Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute (culinary, baking, hospitality, dietary management); Transportation Technology Center (collision repair, electrical lineworker); Business and Industry Center |
| Aerospace Technology Center | 1600 West Maryland Avenue, North Little Rock, AR 72120 | Aviation maintenance only |
The occupational therapy assistant program meets at Baptist Health College Little Rock, a partner institution, and radiography was taught with CHI St. Vincent. The college also offers concurrent-credit classes for high-school students at career centers and high schools; these are not UA-PTC campuses.
Sources
Checked October 2026: UA-PTC locations · About UA-PTC · Tuition and fees (Fall 2026) · HLC accreditation status · Arkansas State Board of Nursing PN pass rates (11 Aug 2026) · Allied health programs · Technical sciences programs · Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Programs & Courses
Nursing
- Practical Nursing (LPN)
- Certified Nursing Assistant
- Medication Assistant (MA-C)
Allied Health
- Dental Assisting
- Surgical Technology
- Respiratory Therapy
- Occupational Therapy Assistant (at Baptist Health College Little Rock)
- Health Information Technology
- Professional Medical Coding
- Allied Health AAS (Dental Assisting option; Baptist Health completers)
- Pre-Health Care Studies
Emergency Medical Services
- Emergency Medical Technology (EMT)
- Paramedic
- Emergency Medical Sciences (AAS)
Transportation and Aviation
- Automotive Technology
- Collision Repair Technology
- Diesel Technology
- Aviation Maintenance (Airframe and Powerplant)
- Tractor and Trailer Operation (CDL)
Trades and Manufacturing
- Welding Technology
- HVACR
- Electrical Lineworker Technology (H-VOLT)
- Advanced Manufacturing Technology (Electrical and Mechanical Systems options)
- Machining and CNC
- Construction Management Technology
- Drafting and Design Technology
- General Technology
Culinary and Hospitality
- Culinary Arts
- Baking and Pastry Arts
- Hospitality Management
- Dietary Management
Cosmetology
- Cosmetology
- Hair Care
- Nail Care and Skin Care
Business and Information Technology
- Accounting
- Business and Office Technology
- Digital Marketing
- Digital Media Production
- Entrepreneurship
- Information Technology
- Insurance and Risk Management
- Paralegal Technology
Education
- Early Childhood Education
- Education (AS transfer degree)
Campus Locations
Little Rock (North Little Rock), AR 3000 West Scenic Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72118
Little Rock, AR 13000 Interstate 30, Little Rock, AR 72210
Little Rock (North Little Rock), AR 1600 West Maryland Avenue, North Little Rock, AR 72120